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A few of the world's most famous non-American novelists have large followings in the United States, among them Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Guenter Grass, who were both popular even before winning the Nobel.

I have interviewed Hugo Chavez, Tim McVeigh, and hundreds of fascinating characters in South America, where I have lived for the past 15 years.

Carlos, on paper, and Carlos, the guy who was in jail, is known to be a cultivated guy, the guy who handles big amounts of information, and for me, that was very important.

The thing about Pablo is that he wasn't happy with what he had - just being the sixth richest man in the world. He wanted to be loved. He wanted to be accepted. He wanted to be President of Colombia; he wanted his kids to go to the same school as the Colombian elite. But he wouldn't be accepted by the elite.

Pablo wanted to be loved and accepted. He wanted to destroy the elite he despised so much, but he also wanted to be the president of Colombia.

I want e by Jose Andres to be a discovery, to be a journey. I want people to find it and be astonished.

Colombians are sick of 'Narcos' stories because Colombia is a country that has changed so much. It's a country that's completely different from the country that we see in 'Narcos.' They reconstructed themselves in 25 years, which is amazing.

I do feel fortunate to have some knowledge of the great Latin American writers, including some that are probably not that well known in English. I'm thinking of Jose Maria Arguedas, whom I read when I was living in Lima, and who really impacted the way I viewed my country.

I'm the most Colombian of the Colombians, even though I've lived 47 years outside of Colombia. I've lived 13 years in New York, and I never did a painting about New York. I've lived in France more than 30 years, and I've never painted Paris.